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LEAVES AND ENDS Drop-In Table Leaves Look in common woodworking catalogs and you’ll come across table extension slides. These clever wood or metal pieces of gear attach to the underside of a tabletop and let you separate the top into two halves. Dropping a table leaf into the gap between the two halves provides you with extra table surface. Table pins or biscuits in the top and leaves serve to line up the parts and keep the surface flat. The pins, available in brass, wood, and plastic, are essentially dowels with rounded ends. Biscuits work just as well when glued on one side only—so that the exposed biscuit can fit into the slot in a leaf. Whether using the table pins or biscuits, the first order of business is to build the table frame as two separate halves, being careful to check the free rails for square as you glue up the frame (A). Next, secure a half top to each frame with tabletop clips. Be sure to brace the free ends of the aprons with plywood gussets (B). Glue the table pins or biscuits in only one table half (C). Push the two halves together and screw the extension slides to the underside. Pull out each slide by about 1 in. to ensure the two tabletop halves will fit tightly once they’re closed (D). /4 Now make your leaf, or leaves, in a similar manner to the two halves. You can attach aprons to the leaf for a seamless look once it’s installed, or keep the leaf flat. Just remember that an apron makes storing the leaf more problematic. Make sure to brace the aprons with corner blocks and slot both ends of the leaf, including the aprons. Glue the pins or biscuits in only one end (E). To add a leaf, spread the table apart and lay the leaf over the extended wood rails, aligning the pins or biscuits into their respective slots (F). Now push the table halves together (G). E F A B C D G Making Tops 291